Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on the digitalisation of health records; and if he will make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health: Most general practitioner (GP) practices have been using digital records for about 10 years. All GP practices in England now use computerised records.

All secondary care providers of acute, mental health, community and ambulance services are making progress in digitising their records. This has been achieved through a combination of local and national investment. The 2015/16 digital maturity assessment shows that most progress has been made in digitising patient records, transfers of information between care settings and the ordering/reporting of diagnostic tests.

The Government is investing £4.2 billion to support wider adoption of digital technology over five years - including delivery of interoperable electronic patient records in the National Health Service - by 2020.

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